ide the castle 
doors, listening. 


"Have you ever seen anything quite as pathetic?" said Malfoy. "And he's 
supposed to be our teacher!" 


Harry and Ron both made furious moves toward Malfoy, but Hermione got 
there first -- SMACK! 


She had slapped Malfoy across the face with all the strength she could 
muster. Malfoy staggered. Harry, Ron, Crabbe, and Goyle stood 
flabbergasted as Hermione raised her hand again. 


"Don't you dare call Hagrid pathetic, you foul -- you evil --" 


"Hermione!" said Ron weakly, and he tried to grab her hand as she swung 


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it back. 
"Get off, Ron!" 
Hermione pulled out her wand. Malfoy stepped backward. Crabbe and Goyle 


looked at him for instructions, thoroughly bewildered. 


"C'mon," Malfoy muttered, and in a moment, all three of them had 
disappeared into the passageway to the dungeons. 
"Hermione!" Ron said again, sounding both stunned and irnpressed. 
"Harry, you'd better beat him in the Quidditch final!" Hermione said 


shrilly. "You just better had, because I can't stand it if Slytherin 


wins!" 
"We're due in Charms," said Ron, still goggling at Hermione. "We'd 
better go." 


They hurried up the marble staircase toward Professor Flitwick's 


classroom. 
"You're late, boys!" said Professor Flitwick reprovingly as Harry opened 
the classroom door. "Come along, quickly, wands out, we're experimenting 
with Cheering Charms today, we've already divided into pairs --" 


Harry and Ron hurried to a desk at the back and opened their bags. Ron 
looked behind him. 

"Where's Hermione gone?" 
Harry looked around too. Hermione hadn't entered the classroom, yet 
Harry knew she had been right next to him when he had opened the door. 


"That's weird," said Harry, staring at Ron. "Maybe -- maybe she went to 
the bathroom or something?" 
But Hermione didn't turn up all lesson. 
"She could've done with a Cheering Charm on her too," said Ron as the 


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class left for lunch, all grinning broadly -- the Cheering Charms had 
left them with a feeling of great contentment. 

Hermione wasn't at lunch either. By the time they had finished their 
apple pie, the after-effects of the Cheering Charms were wearing off, 
and Harry and Ron had started to get slightly worried. 

"You don't think Malfoy did something to her?" Ron said anxiously as 
they hurried upstairs toward Gryffindor Tower. 

They passed the security trolls, gave the Fat Lady the password 
("Flibbertigibbet"), and scrambled through the portrait hole into the 
common room. 

Hermione was sitting at a table, fast asleep, her head resting on an 
open Arithmancy book. They went to sit down on either side of her. Harry 
prodded her awake. 

"Wh -- what?" said Hermione, waking with a start and staring wildly 
around. "Is it time to go? W -- which lesson have we got now?" 

"Divination, but it's not for another twenty minutes," said Harry. 
"Hermione, why didn't you come to Charms?" 

"What? Oh no!" Hermione squeaked. "I forgot to go to Charms!" 

"But how could you forget?" said Harry. "You were with us till we were 
right outside the classroom!" 

"I don't believe it!" Hermione wailed. "Was Professor Flitwick angry? 
Oh, it was Malfoy, I was thinking about him and I lost track of things!" 

"You know what, Hermione?" said Ron, looking down at the enormous 
Arithmancy book Hermione had been using as a pillow. "I reckon you're 
cracking up. You're trying to do too much." 

"No, I'm not!" said Hermione, brushing her hair out of her eyes and 
staring hopelessly around for her bag. "I just made a mistake, that's 
all! I'd better go and see Professor Flitwick and say sorry... I'll see 
you in Divination!" 

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Hermione joined them at the foot of the ladder to Professor Trelawneys 
classroom twenty minutes later, looking extremely harrassed. 

"I can't believe I missed Cheering Charms! And I bet they come up in our 
exams; Professor Flitwick hinted they might!" 

Together they climbed the ladder into the dim, stifling tower room. 
Glowing on every little table was a crystal ball full of pearly white 
mist. Harry, Ron, and Hermione sat down together at the same rickety 
table. 

"I thought we weren't starting crystal balls until next term," Ron 
muttered, casting a wary eye around for Professor Trelawney, in case she 
was lurking nearby. 

"Don't complain, this means we've finished palmistry," Harry muttered 
back. "I was getting sick of her flinching every time she looked at my 
hands." 

"Good day to you!" said the familiar, misty voice, and Professor 
Trelawney made her usual dramatic entrance out of the shadows. Parvati 
and Lavender quivered with excitement, their faces lit by the milky glow 
of their crystal ball. 

"I have decided to introduce the crystal ball a little earlier than I 
had planned," said Professor Trelawney, sitting with her back to the 
fire and gazing around. "The fates have informed me that your 
examination in June will concern the Orb, and I am anxious to give you 
sufficient practice." 

Hermione snorted. 

"Well, honestly... 'the fates have informed her' who sets the exam? She 
does! What an amazing prediction!" she said, not troubling to keep her 
voice low. Harry and Ron choked back laughs. 

It was hard to tell whether Professor Trelawney had heard them as her 
face was hidden in shadow. She continued, however, as though she had 
not. 

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"Crystal gazing is a particularly refined art," she said dreamily. "I do 
not expect any of you to See when first you peer into the Orb's infinite 
depths. We shall start by practicing relaxing the conscious mind and 
external eyes" -- Ron began to snigger uncontrollably and had to stuff 
his fist in his mouth to stifle the noise -- "so as to clear the Inner 
Eye and the superconscious. Perhaps, if we are lucky, some of you will 
see before the end of the class." 

And so they began. Harry, at least, felt extremely foolish, staring 
blankly at the crystal ball, trying to keep his mind empty when thoughts 
such as "this is stupid" kept drifting across it. It didn't help that 
Ron kept breaking into silent giggles and Hermione kept tutting. 

"Seen anything yet?" Harry asked them after a quarter of an hour's quiet 
crystal gazing. 

"Yeah, there's a burn on this table," said Ron, pointing. "Someone's 
spilled their candle." 

"This is such a waste of time," Hermione hissed. "I could be practicing 
something useful. I could be catching up on Cheering Charms --" 

Professor Trelawney rustled past. 

"Would anyone like me to help them interpret the shadowy portents within 
their Orb?" she murmured over the clinking of her bangles. 

I don't need help," Ron whispered. "It's obvious what this means. 
There's going to be loads of fog tonight." 

Both Harry and Hermione burst out laughing. 

"Now, really!" said Professor Trelawney as everyone's heads turned in 
their direction. Parvati and Lavender were looking scandalized. "You are 
disturbing the clairvoyant vibrations!" She approached their table and 
peered into their crystal ball. Harry felt his heart sinking. He was 
sure he knew what was coming -


"There is something here!" Professor Trelawney whispered, lowerng her 

249 



face to the ball, so that it was reflected twice in her huge glasses. 
"Something moving... but what is it?" 

Harry was prepared to bet everything he owned, Including his Firebolt, 
that it wasn't good news, whatever it was. And sure enough -


"My dear Professor Trelawney breathed, gazing up at Harry. "It is here, 
plainer than ever before... my dear, stalking toward you, growing ever 
closer... the Gr --" 

"Oh, for goodness' sake!" said Hermione loudly. "Not that ridiculous 
Grim again!" 

Professor Trelawney raised her enormous eyes to Hermione's face. Parvati 
whispered something to Lavender, and they both glared at Hermione too. 
Professor Trelawney stood up, surveying Hermione with unmistakable 
anger. 

"I am sorry to say that from the moment you have arrived in this class 
my dear, it has been apparent that you do not have what the noble art of 
Divination requires. Indeed, I don't remember ever meeting a student 
whose mind was so hopelessly mundane." 

There was a moment's silence. Then -


"Fine!" said Hermione suddenly, getting up and cramming Unfogging the 
Future back into her bag. "Fine!" she repeated, swinging the bag over 
her shoulder and almost knocking Ron off his chair. "I give up! I'm 
leaving!" 

And to the whole class's amazement, Hermione strode over to the 
trapdoor, kicked it open, and climbed down the ladder out of sight. 

It took a few minutes for the class to settle down again. Professor 
Trelawney seemed to have forgotten all about the Grim. She turned 
abruptly from Harry and Ron's table, breathing rather heavily as she 
tugged her gauzy shawl more closely to her. 

"Ooooo!" said Lavender suddenly, making everyone start. "Ooooo, 
Professor Trelawney, I've just remembered! You saw her leaving, didn't 

250 



you? Didn't you, Professor? 'Around Easter, one of our number will leave 
us forever!' You said it ages ago, Professor!" 

Professor Trelawney gave her a dewy smile. 

"Yes, my dear, I did indeed know that Miss Granger would be leaving us. 
One hopes, however, that one might have mistaken the Signs.... The Inner 
Eye can be a burden, you know..." 

Lavender and Parvati looked deeply impressed, and moved over so that 
Professor Trelawney could join their table instead. 

"Some day Hermione's having, eh?" Ron muttered to Harry, looking awed. 

"Yeah..." 

Harry glanced into the crystal ball but saw nothing but swirling white 
mist. Had Professor Trelawney really seen the Grim again? Would he? The 
last thing he needed was another near-fatal accident, with th